Old 8spd Dura-Ace compatibility?

oldskoolkool
oldskoolkool Posts: 86
edited November 2008 in Workshop
Has anyone tried running an old 8spd Dura Ace rear mech with current 10 spd shifters???
Im building a training bike and have a good conditiion 8spd Dura Ace mech i could make use of but need to use it with some 10 spd wheels.
Ive measured the parallelogram and the the distance between all the pivots seems to match my current 10 spd Ultegra rear mech so Im thinking that there's a chance it'll work.

Comments

  • aracer
    aracer Posts: 1,649
    You've got the one indexed Shimano mech which is different to all the others. No it won't work properly as the geometry is different (whatever you might have found from measuring). See http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3946
  • andy_wrx
    andy_wrx Posts: 3,396
    More info
    http://www.sheldonbrown.com/dura-ace.html
  • kilo
    kilo Posts: 174
    I run an old eight speed Dura Ace rear mech using 10 speed campag levers, which have the advantage of being cheaper than Shimano STI's and they work fine. Not sure what difference the 10 speed wheels make but I am using 10 speed ultegra hubs with the eight speed cassette
  • aracer
    aracer Posts: 1,649
    kilo wrote:
    I run an old eight speed Dura Ace rear mech using 10 speed campag levers, which have the advantage of being cheaper than Shimano STI's and they work fine. Not sure what difference the 10 speed wheels make but I am using 10 speed ultegra hubs with the eight speed cassette
    Are you sure it's an 8-speed DA mech? A 9 or 10 speed mech (same geometry as all other Shimano mechs) should work fine like this, but not an 8-speed DA one - the shifting would be well off.
  • munster
    munster Posts: 737
    I always thought it was old dura ace 8 spd shifters needed an old dura ace 8 speed cassette due to the shifters pulling a different length of cable, up to all other shimano of the time. The mech shouldn't normally make any difference as it is just pulled across regardless.
    I think it is only SRAM mechs that have 1 to 1 actuation.
    I stand by to be corrected.
  • aracer
    aracer Posts: 1,649
    munster wrote:
    I always thought it was old dura ace 8 spd shifters needed an old dura ace 8 speed cassette due to the shifters pulling a different length of cable, up to all other shimano of the time. The mech shouldn't normally make any difference as it is just pulled across regardless.
    I think it is only SRAM mechs that have 1 to 1 actuation.
    I stand by to be corrected.
    Have a look at the links already posted - all Shimano 8 speed cassettes are the same spacing, but the DA 8-speed (and older) mech is different.
  • kilo
    kilo Posts: 174
    aracer wrote:
    kilo wrote:
    I run an old eight speed Dura Ace rear mech using 10 speed campag levers, which have the advantage of being cheaper than Shimano STI's and they work fine. Not sure what difference the 10 speed wheels make but I am using 10 speed ultegra hubs with the eight speed cassette
    Are you sure it's an 8-speed DA mech? A 9 or 10 speed mech (same geometry as all other Shimano mechs) should work fine like this, but not an 8-speed DA one - the shifting would be well off.

    I got the bike second hand and it was a dura ace rear mech on an eight speed cassette, it is now a being shifted with campag 10 speed levers (xenon cheapo ones) on a shimano eight speed block and works fine, maybe it's not old enough to be an old dura ace rear mech

Categories